Rhino Linux

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, Nick Peers discovers why this new Ubuntu derivative might be a barrel of fun!

There are already plenty of Ubuntu variants out there, so what makes Rhino Linux stand out? The clue is in its former name, T Rolling Rhino Remix. Unlike Ubuntu and virtually all its derivatives, Rhino Linux follows a rolling release model, which means that rather than freeze its core repositories at point of release, as each major version of Ubuntu does, the packages within can be updated with the latest versions at any point to ensure you’re always working with the latest available release. The concept isn’t new to Linux, of course – Arch Linux is the most obvious proponent of this approach, a single version that is continuously updated as opposed to the separate point release approach of Ubuntu. The secret to Rhino’s successful adoption of this approach – like so much else in its code – is the clever integration and cannibalisation of existing tools and technologies, as we’ll see in this feature.

The project first saw the light of day under the title Rolling Rhino Remix in late March 2022. At first it was little more than a series of script-based tools that handled the updates, but it soon started to investigate alternative methods.

In October 2022, Rolling Rhino Remix was shelved in favour of a more ambitious successor (see https:// rollingrhino.org for details). Rhino Linux 2023.1 rolled out in August 2023 as a fully functional Ubuntu variant, with its own custom desktop and wrapper that brings together multiple package managers under one roof. Version 2023.3 rolled out in October, offering builds for both ARM64 and x86/x64 PCs as well as Pine and

Raspberry Pi devices, so we’ve decided now is the perfect time to take it for a test drive.

We’ll step you through the (simple) installation process, take you on a complete tour of the desktop and – of course – check out its package managers to see how it delivers on its promise of continuous updates. Strap yourself in and let’s roll…

Rhinos and unicorns

From the moment you spin up the Rhino Linux live disc, you can see this operating system is easy on the eye. From the early glimpse of the distro’s Unicorn desktop in the live environment to the pleasing install wizard, a heavily modded version of the Calamares installer, giving Rhino Linux a test run or installing it on your main system or in a VM is a relative breeze.

There are some caveats: attempts to access the release note and support links from the main installer wizard throw up a ‘Failed to execute default Web Browser error: Input/Output error’ message – setting a default browser has no effect here. The rest of the install wizard is a pleasure to work through, with some nice touches (a graphical representation of each keyboard model and layout, for example), but our chief highlights are the partitioning options, which cover all bases, and the summary screen at the end of the wizard giving you a second look at your proposed partitioning scheme before you commit to the install.